NPR

On today’s Fresh Air, sports journalist Howard Bryant. He is a senior writer for ESPN.com, and ESPN the Magazine. He's also a correspondent for NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday. His new book is The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism. In light of the current debate over African-American athletes, like Colin Kaepernick, who refuse to stand for the national anthem, Bryant examines the long tradition of athlete-activism that goes back to Jackie Robinson, Bill Russell, Muhammed Ali and others. Interview by Dave Davies.

On today’s Fresh Air, Clint Watts worked for the US Army and the FBI in counterintelligence but says he’s done some of his best work as a private citizen, on social media with a home computer and credit cards. He’s tracked jihadists and Russian actors meddling in American politics, and he testified to Congress on how to strengthen American Democracy.

Novelist Tom Perrotta’s book Mrs. Fletcher, now out in paperback, is about how a single mother and her son are both transformed when he goes off to college. Perrotta’s previous novels Election and Little Children were both adapted to film. His book The Leftovers, about the people left behind after many others have instantly disappeared in what may or may not be the Rapture, was adapted into a popular HBO series.

Join KRCB, KQED, NPR Music and Lagunitas Brewing Company for a celebration of the Tiny Desk Contest community in Petaluma! This event will feature a live performance by 2018 Tiny Desk Contest winner Naia Izumi, as well as some of our favorite local artists who entered the Contest this year:

Join KRCB-FM for WORLD CAFÉ weekdays at 2 pm – here is this week’s schedule:

Monday, April 30th – Chick Corea

Chick Corea is one of the greatest living piano players. On the next World Cafe He tells stories about performing with Miles Davis, watching Thelonious Monk play and collaborating with legendary drummer Steve Gadd on their latest album. Chick Corea, seated at the piano on Monday's World Cafe.

NPR Music announced the return of its popular Tiny Desk Contest. Over the last three years, the contest has received more than 18,000 entries and led to breakout artist discoveries like Fantastic Negrito, Gaelynn Lea and Tank and the Bangas.

One of public radio’s most familiar voices is signing off this week. Robert Siegel is hanging up the mic, and retiring from his gig hosting All Things Considered after 30 years. Siegel chatted with our News Director Steve Mencher. They started by talking about Robert’s colleague Susan Stamberg, whose voice changed radio in the U.S.

Toast of the Nation: an NPR tradition every New Year's Eve since the 1970s! It's festive jazz you can party to, anytime. Spirited, improvised, and swinging, this event is hosted by Christian McBride. We’ll hear the Best Of – Jazz Tiny Desk Concerts; John Scofield’s Uber Jam Band At Berklee, 2012 Encore; Dayme Arocena At The San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2017; Terence Blanchard At The 2017 Tri City Jazz Festival In Cleveland; The Herlin Riley Quintet From Jazz At Lincoln Center, 2017 and Blue Note 2017/2018 Toast of the Nation Encores.

Allie X started out as a classically trained theatre performer. After moving to LA to pursue a career in pop songwriting, she got the ultimate vote of confidence – Katy Perry tweeted that Allie’s song was her new jam. Hear the story and a live performance by Allie X on the next World Cafe!

President Trump is addressing the nation Monday night, beginning at 9:00 PM ET, on U.S. engagement and "the path forward" in Afghanistan and South Asia. Senior U.S. officials tell NPR that the president is expected to order about 4,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. The decision follows months of deliberation within the Trump Administration, involving top military commanders, political advisers and even enlisted veterans of the nearly 16-year war. NPR journalists from across the newsroom are offering context and analysis about President Trump's remarks.

Fresh Air opens the window on contemporary arts and issues with guests from worlds as diverse as literature and economics.

Terry Gross hosts this multi-award-winning daily interview and features program. The veteran public radio interviewer is known for her extraordinary ability to engage guests of all dispositions. Every weekday she delights intelligent and curious listeners with revelations on contemporary societal concerns.

Hear Fresh Air weekdays at 4:00 pm on KRCB-FM. (Fresh Air also repeats Tuesday through Friday at 12:00 am!)

Just a few years before he got the internship at NPR that started him in radio, our host Ira Glass had another career. He performed magic at children's birthday parties. A powerful sense of embarrassment has prevented him from ever doing an episode on the subject, but when he learned that producer David Kestenbaum was also a kid conjurer, they decided to dive in together.

Listen to THIS AMERICAN LIFE with host Ira Glass, every Friday night at 7:00 pm, and repeating every Saturday morning at 9:00 am on KRCB-FM Radio 91!

All Songs Considered is NPR's guide to discovering new music below the radar. Every week, host Bob Boilen and producer Robin Hilton go through hundreds of new CDs to find music that's worth getting excited about, whether it's the latest Swedish pop band, a hip hop artist going ambient, or a singer-songwriter with a twisted new take on love.

Without this critical seed funding, your local stations may be forced to go off-air or cut the programs you love and the public services your community relies on. Your community could lose access to educational content for children, emergency communication services, local programming, trusted news and more.

President-elect Donald Trump will hold a press conference Wednesday morning January 11, 2017. It is scheduled to begin at 8 am PT, and it will air on KRCB-FM. The special coverage will be hosted by Robert Siegel, who will be joined by National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson, White House Correspondent Tamara Keith, as well as National Security Correspondent Mary Louise Kelly and Business Editor Marilyn Geewax.

Tonight at 6 pm - President Barack Obama gives his farewell address to a large audience, live at McCormick Place in Chicago. This broadcast on KRCB-FM will be hosted by NPR’s Audie Cornish. Also joining the coverage: National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson, Political Editor Domenico Montanaro, White House Correspondent Scott Horsley, Justice Correspondent Carrie Johnson, and Diplomatic Correspondent Michele Kelemen.

From established stars to promising newcomers, there always seems to be one key song from their early years that was a turning point in their musical life. But the connection between that song and their later creative output is not always clear, as Bob Boilen has discovered, and documented.

For life-long music lover Bob Boilen, talking with artists he admired about the songs that were a key, early influence for them was a pathway to a deeper understanding of their music.

One unexpected but insightful example came from a well-known jam band guitarist.